Tame a Quirky Kindle Audio Jack

This is my Kindle Touch. It has an onboard MP3 player, as does the Kindle Fire. One night I wanted to listen to a Podcast on it before falling asleep. The jack is supposed to disconnect the speakers so sound comes only through the earphones. But, sound blared out through the speakers, too, and wakened my wife. She did not appreciate it. An Internet search revealed other Kindle owners have the same problem.

I never use the speakers, but it would be handy to use my Kindle as an MP3 player and know others are not forced to listen to my Podcasts. This Instructable will show a simple way to disconnect the speakers.

Use a coin or a butterknife to unsnap the bottom of the Kindle's back. Raise it enough to unsnap the bottom half of the back on both sides. Go no farther. See the next step.

(For other views on how to remove the back of a Kindle Touch, see this Instructable.)

The top half of the back does not unsnap, but slides to be free of the Kindle. While holding the unsnapped lower half up, slide the back away from the top of the Kindle. That would be toward the left side of the photo.

The photo was taken through a magnifying glass. In the center of the lens you can see a small black snap connector for one of the speakers. As the Kindle is face down on the table, this connector is in the lower right corner.

The point of a knife works very well for gently lifting the speaker connector from its socket. There are no exposed conductors on the bottom side of this connector. (The conductors are recessed and cannot touch anything.)

Move the connector to the side. It can rest on the screw next to the socket.

Disconnect the connector for the other speaker, too.

Position the top half of the back and slide forward. Press the bottom half of the back so the snaps hold the back in place. Check for gaps that indicate something is not in place and start again to make corrections.

Plug in your favorite earphones and listen with the assurance no one else is hearing your audio.

If you ever decide you need the speakers, just remove the back and attach the connectors in their sockets again.